Mission Cliffs

Top notch climbing gym in SF. Great for lead and belay Bouldering section is a bit cramped when crowded. The weights section is pretty good. Good lockers and sauna

Been going here for years. Honestly, I only go anymore because it's very close to where I live. The gym is pretty worn and crappy. It's also SUPER crowded after work on weekdays, to the point it's impossible to climb with any efficiency. Workout machines are old and crappy and frequently broken and they have a very limited selection. Sauna is nice, but very small. The classes are kind of a joke, there are literally zero hiit classes that are not during 9-5 working hours, so if you have a normal work schedule you will never be able to attend. I did go to one once and it was also very strange, just an instructor writing the exercises on a board and then you do them at your own pace. Zero energy, zero good music to pump you up, literally just like working out on your own? Get better instructors and get more classes at times people who have jobs can attend. Getting harder and harder to justify the ever increasing cost of membership. Movement is much nicer and has better classes, more interesting routes, cleaner, and less crowded.

It's been over a decade since I last climbed, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to return to the sport while visiting town to see my son. I remembered the climbing community being incredibly supportive, and I was reminded of their warmth and kindness as soon as I walked into Mission Cliffs. A special shout-out to Laurie at the front desk. He couldn't have been more welcoming and enthusiastic about having me back and climbing with my son. His positive energy and genuine friendliness set the tone for an amazing experience. Mission Cliffs is a great example of how exceptional customer service can make a big difference. Their welcoming attitude and friendly staff created a memorable experience. Thank you for providing a fantastic climbing experience and helping me create a lasting memory with my son.

I rarely write negative reviews — especially for a climbing gym — but my experience at Mission Cliffs in SF was so disappointing in so many ways. Maria (staff member) was extremely condescending. We were visiting from out of town and my partner needed to take his lead certification because he hadn’t visited a touchstone before. Between us, we have hundreds of hours of lead climbing experiences, both indoors and outside. We were made to wait over an hour — despite repeatedly coming back to the front desk to ask when we could take it and if anyone was available (they were, but were just chit chatting at the desk). After the hour, we finally went to the desk to ask again and she said “oh, hasn’t someone already tested you yet?” to which she finally agreed to come administer the test. I have previously passed a lead test at touchstone, but was told that by participating in the test again that if I did anything wrong my lead cert would be revoked. Get the need to be safe here, but this felt super unnecessary. She then pointed out that I didn’t have a lead card (we had told her when checking in that we were visiting from out of town and didn’t have this). She then said in an accusatory tone that she could take away my lead cert for not having the card (all before the test, all still extremely unnecessary). She then proceeded to administer the test — which is one of the unnecessarily hardest lead routes for a test imo having visited many gyms in many countries. There is no need for a lead climber to be able to climb an overhung 10b successfully and clean in one go — the emphasis should clearly be on safety rather than ability (other gyms I have visited have plenty of great 10.b and below lead routes). There is also no need to intimidate the climber taking the test prior to them taking the test. Her instructions were convoluted (“clip 6 clips, you can discuss which ones between you” — unclear why she couldn’t just say clip all the draws on the route) and she was just downright mean. The cumulative effect of this is a gym that feels extremely oppressive and unfriendly to climbers — both old and new. I cannot even imagine how a newer lead climber would feel taking this test — intimidated, scared, and frankly not wanting to bother to clear these hurdles. Sadly, to top it off, the route setting was not even good. Straight up and down and nothing very interesting.

The gym was clean and has great facilities. I thought the grades were a little funky and all over the place. The bouldering grades were quite hard and the lead/top-rope grades were very soft. Either way, I had a good climbing experience. I was appreciative of the staff’s safety standards but I felt ripped off on my lead test. We arrived around ~10am and had to wait till 4:30 to take our test, we were failed over minor backstepping and specific rules of the test that weren’t communicated. Our examiner was very condescending, cold, rude, and borderline confrontational from the start. For example, when my friend took the top-rope exam, he was asked how long the tail needed to be. He responded “about a fist and a finger or so”. The examiner glared and snarled “it has to be at least 6 inches!”. It was all ironic because most of the permanent top-rope ropes didn’t have stopper knots. I really wanted to like the gym, and my buddy and I had a great time on the wall but the treatment of a certain staff member really stained my experience.